Theories of International Politics and Zombies

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Overview

What would happen to international politics if the dead rose from the grave and started to eat the living? Daniel Drezner's groundbreaking book answers the question that other international relations scholars have been too scared to ask. Addressing timely issues with analytical bite, Drezner looks at how well-known theories from international relations might be applied to a war with zombies. Exploring the plots of popular zombie films, songs, and books, Theories of International Politics and Zombies predicts realistic scenarios for the political stage in the face of a zombie threat and considers how valid--or how rotten--such scenarios might be.

Drezner boldly lurches into the breach and "stress tests" the ways that different approaches to world politics would explain policy responses to the living dead. He examines the most prominent international relations theories--including realism, liberalism, constructivism, neoconservatism, and bureaucratic politics--and decomposes their predictions. He digs into prominent zombie films and novels, such as Night of the Living Dead and World War Z, to see where essential theories hold up and where they would stumble and fall. Drezner argues that by thinking about outside-of-the-box threats we get a cognitive grip on what former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld famously referred to as the "unknown unknowns" in international security.

Correcting the zombie gap in international relations thinking and addressing the genuine but publicly unacknowledged fear of the dead rising from the grave, Theories of International Politics and Zombies presents political tactics and strategies accessible enough for any zombie to digest.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Drezner (All Politics Is Global), a Tufts professor of international politics, comes up with an intriguing intellectual conceit to explain various schools of international political theory. He imagines a world overrun with zombies and considers the likely responses of national governments, the U.N. and other international organizations, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs). He examines possible reactions through the lens of seven theoretical approaches including realpolitik, liberalism, neoconservatism, and bureaucratic politics. After considering the efficacy of each approach in combating the zombie hordes, Drezner weighs their flaws and concludes that given the limitations of human reason and a highly fluid situation, all theories are "more circumscribed than international relations theorists proclaim in their scholarship." Drezner is fascinated with zombies—he's seen all the movies and read the books—and writes with clarity, insight, and wit. For example, he notes that as zombies bite humans, who then become zombies, human-zombie "alliances of convenience" might be possible," that NGOs would arise "devoted to the defense of the living dead," and that neoconservative "shock-and-awe" military approaches probably wouldn't impress the undead zombies. This slim book is an imaginative and very helpful way to introduce its subject—who knew international relations could be this much fun? (Mar.)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691147833
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 1/23/2011
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 136
Sales rank: 105,761
Product dimensions: 4.40 (w) x 7.30 (h) x 0.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Daniel W. Drezner is professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. His books include "All Politics Is Global" (Princeton). He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Zombie Research Society.

Preface ix

Introduction . . . to the Undead 1

The Zombie Literature 11

Defining a Zombie 21

Distracting Debates about Flesh-eating Ghouls 23

The Realpolitik of the Living Dead 33

Regulating the Undead in a Liberal World Order 47

Neoconservatism and the Axis of Evil Dead 61

The Social Construction of Zombies 67

Domestic Politics: Are All Zombie Politics Local? 77

Bureaucratic Politics: The "Pulling and Hauling" of Zombies 87

We?re Only Human: Psychological Responses to the Undead 99

Conclusion . . . or So You Think 109

Acknowledgments 115

Notes 119

References 129

Index 149

Customer Reviews

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Suvorov

Posted April 14, 2012

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A must have for the library of anyone preparing for the zombie a

A must have for the library of anyone preparing for the zombie apocalypse. This is a good companion to The Zombie Survival Guide as it covers the possible political ramifications of a global outbreak. It references many sources- zombie literature, zombie movies, zombie websites, political science books, history books, military books and more. It defines a zombie, discusses irrelevant debates in the zombie enthusiast community that distract from the real issues, possible responses from a liberal versus neoconservative world order, etc. It will be a dry read for someone who is not into this sub-genre, or who just wants the fiction, but for zombie enthusiasts, it is entertaining.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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JulieJJJ

Posted September 2, 2011

politics and zombies: if you like technical papers and love your zombies...

The premise of the book is fun, but I had a hard time getting into it. It reminded me of one of those extremely technical grad school papers with tons of footnotes and references to various other sources (but fun ones in Drezner's book, I'll admit). Drezner seemed to reference Max Brooks's "World War Z" most of all when describing various international politics topics from "the Realpolitik of the Living Dead" to "Neoconservatism and the Axis of Evil Dead," although zombie authors and directors from Maberry to Romero were also mentioned. It's a short book at just over 100 pages, well-written, and a new spin on zombies: mixing it up with some political science.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted September 26, 2011

Great Book... Must Buy

I had to read this book for class, but the book is a great read. I finished it in about a week which is an accomplishment considering my procrastination when it comes to class readings.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 23, 2011

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